Sunday, August 30, 2009

Muthoot murder - UPDATE

Kerala home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh is now under scanner for his relationship with Om Prakash, one of the two people with known criminal records, who was with George when he was murdered. George was travelling with Om Prakash and P. Rajesh Friday night when he was murdered. Soon after the incident, Om Prakash and P. Rajesh escaped with the Ford Endeavour vehicle in which George was traveling. Later police recovered the Endeavour. However, The Chavara Police had reportedly tried to hand over the Endeavour to three people who had come from Thiruvananthapuram, but the attempt was foiled after mediapersons reported on saturday that George was driving this vehicle on the night of his murder. An official at the Chavara station is under scrutiny for trying to hand over the vehicle to the three men from Thiruvananthapuram.

A ‘glamorous gangster’ is how Omprakash is widely known in the criminal circles in Thiruvananthapuram city. Like many prominent gangsters in the capital, Omprakash and Rajesh, alias Puthenpalam Rajesh, are products of political goondaism. A CPM sympathiser, Omprakash began his goonda activities by settling scores for his party leaders right from his college days. He was an accused in several cases pertaining to violence during LDF sponsored agitations. Omprakash came to the ‘limelight’ following the murder of Congress activist Ashokan at Malayinkeezhu in 1999. The city police had issued a lookout notice against Omprakash following his involvement in the murder of gangster Krishnakumar alias Aprani Krishnakumar at Chackai bypass in February 2007. He was suspected to have left the country following the incident.

Despite his involvement in several criminal cases, Omprakash managed to get a passport from the Thiruvananthapuram Passport Office using a certificate issued by the local police which said that he was not involved in any criminal cases. A probe was also ordered into the incident.

Rajesh was also a close associate of many CPM-DYFI leaders in the city.